Please, Brother
by pocoloca
Summary: Basically Joesf's POV when he turned Mick in "Fated to Pretend." It's my fave scene in the series, and I couldn't resist. R&R!


**Please, Brother.**

**Okay, so I'm reeeally hoping no one's done this yet. It's just that this is my favourite scene in the whole series, and I couldn't help myself. **

"Besides, I'd only get dead trying to protect you, the human liability." It was true. I would fight to the death to protect Mick. I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him that, but it was true nonetheless. I had gone 400 years without a single living relative, completely alone. Not counting the freshies, that is. And I really don't count the freshies.

The fact was, Mick was like a brother to me. A stupid, annoying kid brother. Young, yes. Naive, yes. Goodie two-shoes...duh. That was why I felt like I always needed to protect him, why I had always advised him against getting romantically involved with a human. Because I didn't want to see him to get hurt like I had. I was sure he didn't know the way I felt about him, I hid it so well. But hey, you learn a lot with 400 years of experience under your belt.

"I can take care of myself!" he protested.

_Like hell you can, kid._ Emotions are heightened when you're a vamp, and suddenly, I was really pissed off at him for doing something so completely and utterly stupid. My vision took on a reddish hue and a second later he was sandwhiched between me and the wall. He was freaked, I could tell. Had he still been a vampire, he would have seen that move coming a mile away. But as a human, he'd been taken completely off guard. Which was exactly why I wasn't letting him go anywhere.

"Is this how you're gonna fight them? _Is this how you want it to end?"_ I snarled in his face. If I had to, I'd keep him like this all night. As long as it took for him to get at least some degree of sanity back. There was no way I was going to let him go and get himself killed for some mortal chick who, let's face it, would probably die in half a century or so anyways.

"Get off me." he muttered. He struggled, trying to push me off. It would have worked if he hadn't been so weak and human. As it was, the attempt to throw me off was futile. "Get _off_ me!" he said, louder this time. He sounded desperate. And with good reason, too. I hadn't realized before now how good he smelled. His blood, I mean. Slightly flowery. I could almost see the carotid artery through his delicate, slight tanned, human skin. It would be so easy.....

I suddenly realized what I was thinking, and shook the bloodlust off. The insanity must be contagious, I decided. I could feed later, now was the time to get him sane. I let him go, bust stayed close in case he tried to bolt. He wouldn't get very far, but I wasn't taking any chances. He had stakes, I knew, and I couldn't help him much if he paralyzed me. He walked away from me, breathing heavily, still shaken. If that was what it took, then fine...

"I hope I made my point" I said gently, hoping he wasn't too freaked out. He turned to face me, and I could see it in his eyes. He got it. He knew he was lucky that I was his friend, because if I wasn't, he'd be paying a visit to our dear friend Guillermo. And as a client, if you know what I mean.

"Yeah....I did." He looked at me for a moment. He seemed to be sizing me up. Something in his desperate eyes said that he had a plan.

"What?" I said, somewhat rudely, still freaked out by what I had almost done to him.

'I can't save Beth as a human" Oh, no. I saw where this was going. He had to be joking, he couldn't seriously be asking me what I thought he was asking. "But I can save her as a vampire," he continued, "You have to turn me back..."

"Whoa..." I almost whispered. "You hold on. This is not-"

"You have to turn me back" he repeated, and the words hung in the air like a death sentence, his own. "You have to turn me back, right now."

"Mick, you're human again! After all you went through to get the cure, you're gonna give it up this easy?"

"You think this is easy for me? This... is _not_ easy.. okay? I don't have a choice."

"What you'e asking me to do...." I began, but he cut me off.

"Listen to me!" he snarled, shoving me againt the wall. I could have fought back, but I was too shocked. "He has Beth...." his eyes were filled with tears now. "He has my Beth..." he whispered. " So please.... Please, Brother...."

Now my eyes were filled with tears. Because he had called me brother. Because he was so desperate to save Beth that he would give up the one thing he wanted most in the world to get her back. But mostly because he knew what could happen. He'd seen what had happened to Sarah, what I'd done to her. He knew that if I treid to turn him, he might never wake up. And I suddenly knew that, heaven forbid, if he didn't, I would go and save Blondie myself. It would hurt him more, I realized, to let her die. I had to do it.

"Forgive me, Mick." I whispered, before sinking my teeth into his neck. _Forgive me for taking away the thing you worked so hard for. Forgive me if you turn out like Sarah. Forgive me for always telling you to stay away from Beth, because it could only end badly. Forgive me for always being such an asshole. Just forgive me...._

It had been a while since I last fed, so Micks blood soothed the annoying itch in my throat. His pulse was strong, and the blood flowed quickly out of his body and into mine. I heard him gasp, and vaguely remembered the shock of transformation so long ago. He was clearly in pain, but willing to go through it to save Beth. But his pain hurt me, and I held on tighter to him as I bit even harder, trying to make it as quick as I possibly could.

He seemed to have difficulty beathing now, and he felt cold. He was almost completely drained now, I could hear his heartbeat fading when there was no blood left to pump through his body. A few seconds later it stopped completely and he went limp in my arms. I laid him on the table as gently as I could and removed my jacket. I noticed a tear roll down the side of Mick's face, and I tried to hold back my own tears. I almost gave up then, but then I heard his desperate whisper in my mind. _Please, Brother....._ I knew I had to go on.

Now for the hard part. This was where I had gone wrong when I tried to turn Sarah. I bit through the exposed skin on my wrist and held it over Micks face. The blood was thick and fell slowly, but when it did it fell precisely on Mick's pale lips. Then another drop. Then another. Nothing was happening, _why was nothing happening_? I started to panic, I couldn't let this happen again. In the stillness, I whispered desperately to my fallen brother.

"Come on Mick..." my voice trembled with supressed emotion "Rise and shine...."

Suddenly, there was movement. Mick's eyelid twitched, and he licked the crimson drops of blood from his lips. His eyes were still closed, but his senses were already sharpening. He could smell the blood from my wrist, and he reached for it blindly and brought it to his own chalky lips, half sitting as he did.

At that moment, I knew I had done it. I had succeeded where I had failed with Sarah. Mick was a vampire again. I smiled as he took his blood back, as colour returned to his pale skin, and a single tear slid down my cheek when I realized that I was his sire now. _Damn, that made things really awkward_. He sat up slowly, opened his eyes, and I saw that they were no longer their usual warm brown, but icy blue like mine. He opened his mouth, exposing the fangs, and snarled. He was ready to fight.

I hissed softly. Now it was time to kick some ass. Despite my former unwillingess to risk my life to save Blondie and the other annoying human, I was more than ready to now. I was more than ready to fight beside Mick, my brother, my son.

FIN.

**Sorry about tthat. Borrowed that last line from Twilight, but it was appropriate, was it not? And i am very sorry for the FIN, i couldn't resist. Hope you liked it! R&R Flames accepted, i've gotten to the point where i'm good with consturctive criticism. now...REVIEW and you shall be rewarded with cookies and shiny things!!**


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